Nicole Frugeess/ZUMA/Corbis
DCL
I woke up this morning to find that my bathroom was full of ants. My first instinct was to call the landlord, but I didn't want him coming over and asking what I did with those horrible blinds that came with the apartment. I decided to take matters into my own hands.
After carrying, like, fifty ants outside, I realized that my own hands were not going to solve the problem any time soon.
All stupid jokes aside, I looked online and found that Southern California is plagued with an ant called the Argentine ant, and these guys invade houses during rainy seasons and droughts. LA has been in a heat wave, and it hasn't rained much in the last six months. Once these ants found water, they would probably have moved out of my house without my insistence.
But I wanted to get rid of them ASAP because they were gross. I don't know how green that is, but if you can live with ants in your bathroom then you are a better person than I.
Luckily, I was able to determine where the ants were entering my apartment. They were coming from the sink. All I had to do was fill the sink with water, let it stand for a few hours and hope that it will teach the ants not to use my sink as a doorway. That's called tough love.
If the ants hadn't been coming from a place that could be easily filled with water, I may have been in real trouble. Here are eco-friendly tips to control the ant population:
1. Ants walk in a line because they are following pheromones. Wipe down ant trails with a mixture of water and chili powder. Ants also hate peppermint, salt, cinnamon and pepper.
2. Use caulk to plug holes in walls where ants might enter. This is a good way to increase your overall home energy efficiency.
3. Keep your home clean. If food is scarce outside, ants are not shy about looking for it inside.
Want to see new-to-green rap star Ludacris and rock star Tommy Lee battle out who can be greener? Check out the newest eco tour on Planet Green TV's Battleground Earth.
